Is it another case of like father like son? It is a long time past since a member of the Razak family was responsible for an attack on a Malaysian community but not so long that it has been forgotten. Certainly Malaysians of Chinese ethnicity have not forgotten,

So threats, however veiled, by top Malay politician, arch criminal Najib Razak ,aimed at the Chinese community will be taken seriously. Not just by those threatened but also by extremist elements who could be encouraged to communal violence by racialist propaganda.

The least criticism that could be levelled at Najib is that his pretended worry about inter communal violence should never have been given public utterance. In a multi ethnic society such as Malaysia and with the memories of an earlier pogrom still in the public mind, many will take Najib to have been saying, in coded language, if UMNO loses the general election power should be retained through the use of communal violence against minority communities.

Nab will claim that he did not mean or intend that. But who will believe him? Up against an election date for a contest he cannot win by fair means he clearly contemplates the use of foul ones. And what could be more foul than trying to set one Malaysian community against another in an attempt to create a situation where emergency powers and suspension of democracy could be used; however un- democratically?

His words did not need saying. There is no threat of inter communal violence in Malaysia today. Merely general disgust that the majority community should, once more, have thrown up a racial populist. The first was bad enough. The son is unsupportable. Politicians of all parties should speak out publicly against this blatant attempt to use communal feelings to destroy national unity solely to try to keep a mega thief in power.